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17 April 2025
The ITA reports that kickboxers Ikbol Fozilzhanov and Melissa Lisset Martinez Acevez have each been sanctioned with a two-year period of ineligibility for an Anti-Doping Rule Violation (ADRV) under Article 2.4 of the WAKO Anti-Doping Rules (WAKO ADR).¹
Over the course of 2022 and 2023 Ikbol Fozilzhanov committed three whereabout failures within a 12-month period. He did not challenge his ADRV and accordingly, pursuant to Article 8.3.3 of the WAKO ADR, the ITA issued a sanctioning decision² imposing a period of ineligibility of two years from 13 March 2025 and until 12 March 2027 and the disqualification of competitive results from 1 January 2023.
Melissa Lisset Martinez Acevez also committed three whereabout failures over a 12-month period in 2022 and 2023. Similarly, she did not challenge her ADRV and accordingly pursuant to Article 8.3.3 of the WAKO ADR, the ITA issued a sanctioning decision imposing a period of ineligibility of two years from 13 March 2025 and until 12 March 2027 and the disqualification of competitive results as from 25 February 2023.
Parties with a right of appeal may challenge the decisions before the appeal division of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in accordance with article 13.2.3 of the WAKO ADR.
The ITA will not comment further on this case.
¹ Athletes included in a Registered Testing Pool (RTP), such as Ikbol Fozilzhanov and Melissa Lisset Martinez Acevez, have the obligation to provide daily whereabouts as well as a specific daily 60-minute time slot where they will be available for testing. The purpose is to allow anti-doping organisations to locate athletes for unannounced out-of-competition testing. Any combination of three missed tests (which relate to the athletes’ unavailability with respect to their 60-minute time slot) and/or filing failures (which are caused by the athletes’ failure to provide accurate whereabouts) committed within a twelve-month period amount to an ADRV as per article 2.4 of the WAKO ADR and World Anti-Doping Code. The consequences for such ADRV are a period of Ineligibility between one and two years and the disqualification of results obtained since the date of the ADRV, namely the date of the occurrence of third whereabouts failure (article 10.3.2 WAKO ADR).
² When an athlete does not challenge the assertion of an ADRV and does not request a hearing, anti-doping organisations have the possibility to issue a written decision sanctioning the athlete and imposing the applicable consequences without having to refer the case to a hearing panel. This is provided in articles 8.3.2 and 8.3.3 of the WAKO Anti-Doping Rules and article 8.3 of the World Anti-Doping Code.
